BREAKING: FBI raids troubled Kensington mental health clinic with ties to local pols
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
The clinic has been the subject of a lawsuit alleging Medicaid fraud.
The FBI conducted a late-morning search and seizure operation at a troubled Kensington mental health clinic. Sources reported seeing FBI agents moving in and out of the Juniata Community Mental Health Clinic (JCMHC) building this afternoon, and an FBI spokesperson reported that the clinic was the target of "law enforcement activities."
JCMHC was the subject of a City Paper article last month that detailed allegations of Medicaid fraud and employee discrimination in a lawsuit filed by an ex-employee. The clinic has ties to ward leader Carlos Matos, his wife and former deputy City Commissioner Renee Tartaglione, and former ward leader Sandy Acosta, the mother of State Rep. hopeful Leslie Acosta, some of whom were named in the suit.
Significantly, the lawsuit also alleged that Matos, a felon convicted of bribing several Atlantic City councilmen, had been acting as the clinic's director, contradicting official documents and Matos' own claim that he no longer had anything to do with JCMHC.
Regional FBI spokesperson Carrie Adamowski said no arrests had been made during the raid. She said agents were still on site as of 5:30pm today, but declined to give additional details about the nature of the investigation.
Reports surfaced several months ago purporting that Matos and other individuals affiliated with the clinic had received FBI target letters, informing them that they were the subject of an ongoing investigation. However, neither Matos or his lawyer Geoff Johnson responded to requests for comment.
Stay tuned as more details unfold.
